Early Math Counts

Have you ever considered making a really fun indoor obstacle course in your classroom or gross motor space so that the children can try something new and different and that challenges them physically and cognitively?

When I was little, my big sister set up the basement so we had to follow an obstacle course that kept us moving over and around the furniture.  The big motivator to keep us on course was that she told us there were “crocodiles” in the carpet and if we touched it we would get eaten.  Big sister fear is a REAL thing.

I like the idea of setting up each part of the course with open-ended options for the children.  Since development is bumpy, some children may want to jump on two feet, while others are working on hopping on one.  You can place paper plates on the rug with numbers on them and have the children move from 1 to 2 to 3, etc.  After that, they must move to a table and crawl under it (use an arrow to indicate where to go) and then over to a block balance beam.  Once they’ve completed the balance beam obstacle, they can go over to a table where they have to put 4 Legos together before they move on.

These are simple ideas that may encourage children to try new things, follow simple directions and then make personal choices about how to complete the tasks.  Try and develop a few obstacles that encourage mathematical thinking and spatial awareness.

This is another way to keep everyone moving during these very cold winter days.